22 Women Working For Local Progress On Gender Equality

Tyah-Amoy Roberts, a rising senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, became an gun reform advocate after surviving unimaginable tragedy. Together with her classmates, she founded STORM (Students Tactfully Organizing Revolutionary Movements) to push for tangible, intersectional solutions to gun violence.

Nikesha Tilton has spent nearly 20 years in the Air Force, and though she’s often moving from base to base, she roots herself in her community everywhere she lives. She’s recently moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where in her spare time she supports women transitioning out of the prison system.

Monique Navarro from El Paso, Texas, has been volunteering consistently in her community since the age of seventeen. Recently, she’s been spending much of her time at the border of the U.S. and Mexico, advocating for undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers.

Tyah, Nikesha and Monique are incredible, inspiring women – and they aren’t the only ones! Women across the U.S. are stepping up to take action on the issues they care about most, from health care to immigration and beyond.

Rather than accept the status quo, women from Los Angeles to Little Rock are rolling up their sleeves and working to improve their communities in ways large and small. These local leaders are both the present and the future of the women’s movement.

United State of Women Ambassadors, who represent 18 cities in 11 states across the U.S., will bring together their local leaders, organizations and passionate friends to commit to mobilize for gender equality. Courtesy of USOW

At the United State of Women, we believe in connecting, convening, and amplifying the voices and efforts of women doing this hard work. And we’re dedicated to doing our part.

Over the next year, we’ll be supporting 22 women (including Tyah, Nikesha, and Monique) as they lead organizing projects on gender equality issues that matter to them and their communities. These United State of Women Ambassadors, who represent 18 cities in 11 states across the U.S., will bring together their local leaders, organizations, and passionate friends to commit to mobilize for gender equality, and then take action!

The United State of Women will be there every step of the way. We’ll make sure Ambassadors get hands-on organizing training to help them be effective leaders. We’ll connect them with experts and veteran organizers who can provide strategic guidance and mentorship. And perhaps most importantly, we’ll make sure they’re surrounded by a supportive community of women and allies who believe in them and their ability to ignite change. We believe that there is so much work happening around the country, and our ambassadors will help to convene everyone together and get your efforts out to more people.

We can’t wait to watch our first class of USOW Ambassadors accelerate the movement for gender equality across the country. And we know they’re up to the challenge. As Alexandria Washington, an Ambassador from Tallahassee said, “It’s been reported that it’s going to take hundreds of years for us to achieve gender equality. But with me at the forefront, that’s not going to be the case.”

Jordan Brooks is the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the United State of Women, a non-profit dedicated to being the megaphone for gender equality, and organizing women around the country. Prior to that role, Jordan spent nearly 8 years in the Obama White Hou...